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barbecue

Better than Store-Bought, 10 Minute Homemade Basil Pesto

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There only is one green sauce that actually everyone likes – pesto. Contrary to all other green sauces, pesto somehow manages to convince, despite its very healthy looking color. And if you buy it at the store, it’s so easy, right? It is. But let me tell you, once you have made your homemade one, you‘ll never go back to store bought. This salty goodness just won‘t compete with the one from the store. Plus, it really just takes 10 minutes to make.

What’s special about this dish? 

To be honest, this is not too fancy or has a special twist. This is one of the few classic recipes. Because really, pesto is so heavenly as is. Actually making pesto yourself already is kinda really special. 

Traditional pesto

What even is pesto? What is it made of? And what differentiates traditional pesto from most store bought ones. So, pesto is a green sauce from Liguria, Italy. It is eaten with pasta, burrata, as a topping or a dip. It is made of fresh basil, grated parmesan, garlic, pine nuts, salt and olive oil. For a really good pesto, it is essential to use high quality ingredients, especially a good olive oil and some good parmesan cheese. And that already is the difference to most store bought ones. In order to make them cheaper, the quality is compromised. Often, there is water added to it or olive oil is partially substituted with some cheeper oil. This way it does not taste as intense and as good.

Also, when it comes to making pesto, it is really important which ingredients you blend, any which you stir in by hand. The basil, garlic and pine nuts need to be blended. The parmesan needs to be grated and then stirred in by hand along with the olive oil. You must not blend the parmesan and olive oil!!!!!! This needs to be stirred in by hand.

The only store bought pesto I buy is either the one from our local delicatessen store or the one from pastafani. They both have the right texture and high quality and taste like real, authentic pesto. So I can highly recommend this.

Is this dish healthy? 

Definitely healthy-ish. It is packed with lots and lots of healthy fats and vitamins. The basil accounts for a bunch of fibre and different vitamins. The nuts on the other hand are a great source of protein and also unsaturated fats. The olive oil, if high quality, also is an excellent source of omega-3 and other unsaturated fats. The parmesan cheese is packed with a bunch of protein but also saturated fat. So overall, a quite balanced meal. 

How to make this dish?

As the title says, this really takes 10 minutes only. All we need to do is blend the basil with the garlic cloves, roasted pine nuts and a pinch of salt. This should be blended really finely and make a thick paste. Then we need to grate the parmesan cheese and stir in a little parmesan cheese and a little oil a bit at a time until we get a creamy consistency. And yup, that already is it.

When and how to best have it and meal prep friendly? 

Pesto definitely is one of the most meal-prep friendly dishes. When you make it and have something left, you can just store it in a jar and cover it with oil. It‘ll last up to 2 weeks, if covered completely with oil, because then it is not in contact with fresh air. 

In terms of what to vest have it with, I‘d definitely say pasta!! Either Trofie (that‘s what you would typically get with pesto in Italy) or definitely on top of burrata or mozzarella, on top of salads, or, one of the best combos, which I have recently discovered is Pesto and Hummus. A MUST try! On bread, rice crackers or whatever – it is life changing.

Homemade Pesto is a must try and a real game changer. It is SO easy and honestly one of the most delicious things you could make. I know I have told you a bunch of times here, but there is no way you dl not try this! 

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Better than Store-Bought, 10 Minute Homemade Basil Pesto

There only is one green sauce that actually everyone likes – pesto.  It is SO easy and honestly one of the most delicious things you could make. Ready in 10 minutes (and gone in 5 probs)

Course basics, dinner, lunch
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

  • 50 g basil
  • 30 g pine nuts
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 100 g parmesan cheese
  • 125 ml olive oil

How to

  1. Roast the pine nuts in a nonstick pan on high heat until golden. Add to a food processor along with the basil, the garlic and some salt. Blend until having reached a creamy paste.

  2. Finely grate the parmesan cheese.

  3. Add the basil mix to a bowl and about 2 tbsp at a time, add in the cheese and the olive oil. Then repeat until having nothing left.

  4. Serve with pasta, bread, salads, or just enjoy as is!

I am wishing you a whole bunch of fun and deliciousness when cooking! 
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière 

The Ultimate Barbecue Cauliflower Wing Stir Fry

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Really, I do not quite know what this is or how to name this respectively but what I can tell you is that it is seriously good! It kind of is a mix of wings, a barbecue salad and a stir fry. Yepyep, I know this sounds a bit interesting but honestly, it could not be more delicious!

We have got the wing shape and texture since the cauliflower is baked. Then we have got the stir fry flavours, especially in the vegetables and the good old barbecue taste. The cauliflower has the good soggy-after-crispy-saucy taste (I hope anyone understands what I mean here). It’s like when you bake something crispy and then toss it in a sauce and it gets softer and so full of flavour. Definitely amazing! If you only are a fan of crispy wings, you should go check out my cauliflower taco recipe and try this (insane!)

What is special about this dish?

It is not a classic of any cuisine, that needs to be said. We have so many different flavours and textures, like a fusion of the whole world in one bite. And, even though it is such a fusion, it really is not difficult to make. It comes down to a few minutes essentially. Plus, it really is something that everyone will like. It is one of those family meals anyone wants, while at the same time being great for just making it for one self. So, it is kinda extra but not hard to make.

Is this dish healthy?

I would definitely say so. We have got the cauliflower. I think cauliflower really is worth all its hype because it simply is great. Not only can you make an incredible variety of dishes with it, ranging from pizza to gnocchi and wings but it also is really nutritious and very very filling. Cauliflower is high in fibre and antioxidants as well as several Vitamins such as C, K, and B6. Just a really cool vegetable, plus it mostly is grown locally so, no excuses to not get it.

Besides the cauliflower we have got (plant based) milk, wholewheat flour, breadcrumbs, spices, oil and barbecue sauce. Wholewheat flour is a great source of fibre and carbs, same as the breadcrumbs (if you chose wholegrain ones). The spices, milk, and oil also contain several minerals, vitamins and healthy fats, which are great for your body.

Now we have got the barbecue sauce left, which is a tricky one. Let’s put it that way: Homemade ALWAYS is better than store bought. Why? You actually know the ingredients that are in it and you can pronounce them. Store-bought ones are often loaded with sugar, preservatives, artificial colouring, and, and, and. You know, the list goes on. If you decide to get a store bought one, make sure to check the label and see which ingredients it contains. Nevertheless, you can easily make a homemade one. You verrryyy likely already have all the ingredients at home and have it mixed in less than 5 minutes. The recipe will be down below here or in the barbecue chicken salad recipe.

How to make it:

If you have watched my Vegan What I Eat In A Day on Instagram, you by now know. It is everything else than tricky or complicated. No need to pre-cook anything or something like that, just an easy recipe. We start by chopping up the cauliflower and tossing it in a mix of plant based milk, cornstarch, wholegrain flour and spices. Next, we toss them in the breadcrumbs. Now they go on a baking tray, are drizzled with some oil and baked.

That’s it for this part. now you an chop up some veggies. I believe what works best here are bell peppers and spring onions, but feel free to use whatever you like and desire. These are just quickly stir fried in a hot pan with some oil. When the cauliflower is done baking, it is added along with the (homemade) barbecue sauce. Just combine all of this and serve with some rice, salad, bread, potatoes, or anything else you like! That already is it!

How and when to best have it:

You can meal prep it and store in the fridge with some extra barbecue sauce if you want. I most of the time serve it with rice and/or salad but it also must taste great in salad, or with some crispy, fries-style potatoes! That is it!

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The Ultimate Barbecue Cauliflower Wing Stir Fry (Vegan)

Soggy-after-crispy sauce & super flavorful barbcue caulidlower wings. So easy, so good and so healthy. Just heaven.

Course Appetizer, dinner, Main Course
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 25 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 2 servings

What you will need

For the barbecue sauce:

  • 100 g unsweetend ketchup
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup or coconut sugar
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 1 tsp salt

For the rest

  • 1/2 head of cauliflower (or one small one)
  • 200 ml plant based milk
  • 5 tbsp wholegrain flour
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 5 tbsp breadcrumbs
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 3-4 spring onions
  • rice to serve with

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Break the cauliflower apart into smaller, bite-sized florets. Combine milk with flour, cornstarch, paprika and salt in a bowl. Add the cauliflower florets and toss them in the mixture.

  2. Add the breakcrumbs into another bowl and toss the cauliflopwer in it after the mixture, so they are all covered with the crumbs. Add them noto a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Here it is important that every floret is covered with some oil, otherwise they won't be crispy after baking and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

    Combine all the ingredients for the barbecue sauce!

  3. In the meantime deseed and chop the bell pepper and pealed spring onions into about 1cm sized pieces. Heat up about 1tbsp of oil in a pan and stir-fry those for about 2-3 minutes. Then add in the baked cauliflower and the barbecue sauce and give it a good mix! Fry for another 2 minutes, then serve with some rice and/ or salad! Enjoy!

Black Quinoa Teriyaki Burger (vegan)

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Burgers; the ultimate comfort and fat food. The embodiment of unhealthy. But can you make it healthy? I can tell you, yes you can! This is a healthy, plant based and incredibly delicious version of the most popular fast food. A healthy black quinoa teriyaki burger.

Why aren’t burgers healthy?

First things first. We always hear burgers aren’t healthy. But what exactly is it that is not healthy? A lot of people think it is the bun. Because bread has the reputation to be unhealthy. But I need to disappoint you if you were believing that because this is not true. Bread is a good source of carbohydrates and vitamins. Also it has some protein and little fat and sugar (although store bought burger buns may have a lot of sugar, so keep an eye out for that). Sure, if you choose a wholewheat burger bun it would be healthier. But this is not what I am referring to. The unhealthy parts of most burgers are the meat, cheese, bacon and sometimes even sauces.

The meat oftentimes is not healthy because usually fatty meat is used. This adds more flavour but also more calories and more fat. Bacon goes along the same way. Bacon mainly is made of fat and sodium. Which both is not healthy for us. And of course the cheese. Sure, cheese does have protein but again, the fat is the less healthy macronutrient here. Do not get me wrong, fat is not necessarily bad for our bodies and we do need it to live but the amount which is in one burger is not really healthy anymore.

The when I said that sauces aren’t always healthy, this may have surprised you. Why , you think? In most burgers you can find mayonnaise. High quality mayonnaise is made out of oil and egg yolk. This is not unhealthy when consumed in right amounts. It is high in calories but those calories have a nutritional value. But most store bough mayonnaises have hundreds of other ingredients in them. Most of which you cannot pronounce. This is not very good for our bodies. To summarise: high quality mayonnaise can be healthy when consumed in right amounts, highly processed ones are not good for us.
But mayonnaise isn’t the only sauce. In many other sauces there is a lot of butter or sugar added to get more flavour. Butter and sugar both, I think most people are aware of that, are not great sources of nutrients. While oftentimes we assume that the sauces do not make much of a difference, they actually do. 2-3 tablespoons of high calorie sauces can quickly add up to 200-300 kcal. So be aware the next time you choose it.

About balance

But please, after reading about the nutritional information about burgers, do not say that you will not have them again. Having a good and super tasty burger once in a while is more than alright. Not stressing out about it too much also is important for a healthy relationship with food. Just be aware that this is not the ideal meal to nourish your body and it should be consumed in moderation if you want to eat a healthy diet.

How to make it healthy

I think we now have talked enough about why it is not healthy. So let’s focus on making it healthy. This comes down to super easy swaps. For example instead of taking a beef patty you can substitute it for a plant based one. Here we are making one out of black quinoa from Reishunger (you can get it here). But you can also long for one made out of beans of ground turkey for example. Instead of bacon we are using mushrooms. May sound a little boring at first, but once you’ll try it out, you’ll be convinced. Instead of store bought low quality mayonnaise, you can use a homemade one. Or you can use ketchup without added sugar. If that’s too boring for you, I am sure you are going to find sauces at the supermarket that do not have a lot of added sugar. Last but not least, we probably need something else. Avocado. Don’t be fooled thinking that this is just another ago trend because it isn’t. Avocado in your burger is life changing.

How to build the perfect burger:

This is a very important part. This can change your burger 180°. No but honestly you can ruin so much when you build it the wrong way.

  1. toast your bun. This crispness it up and adds a lot of flavour. No matter whether you are doing this in a toaster of a pan, this step is essential.
  2. Sauce. Right on top of the bun that is the first layer, we are adding a sauce. Ketchup, homemade mayonnaise, barbecue sauce. Whatever.
  3. Greens. They won’t change much of the taste but much of the vitamins you get in. Also it is important to add a layer of greens before adding something else because when you add the patty or something else like tomatoes or cucumber right onto the bun it will get soggy.
  4. The patty. Pretty self-explanatory.
  5. Bacon/Mushrooms/other add ins. they have a good flat surface to lay on.
  6. Soggy veggies. Now you can add tomatoes, cucumber, or anything else containing a lot of water. It s not next to a bun so it won’t turn anything soggy.
  7. Avocado/ sauces. To finish it up, a nice layer of sauce or smashed avocado to add extra flavour and consistency.
  8. the top bun. Again, I would recommend to toast it.

The Quinoa Patty

Making a burger out of quinoa may sound a little weird but it is so good and so easy. The black quinoa adds an extra bit of flavour and depth to it. You can find black quinoa at Reishunger.com . It is important to completely cook the quinoa through until it has absorbed all of the liquid. This way it will give a perfectly mushy consistency when blending. What also is important is the seasoning. Since it does not have as a strong flavour itself as meat does, we need to season it well. Here we are doing it with a super simple teriyaki sauce.

Meal prep and serving:

You can batch make the quinoa patties and freeze them before cooking. Whenever you wanna have one, let them thaw a little bit and fry them up in a pan.
The burgers are best served with some homemade fries or sweet potato fries or just a simple little salad.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and have fun cooking it!

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Black Quinoa Teriyaki Burgers

Healthy Plant Based Burgers. A ton of flavor. A ton of goodness. Pretty easy, pretty good.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 25 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 2 burgers
Calories 695 kcal

What you will need

  • 100 g quinoa
  • 5 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1.5 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp sriracha or hot sauce
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 200 g mushrooms
  • 1/2-1 Avocado
  • 2 burger buns
  • a handful greens

For the vegan mayonaise (makes about 8 servings)

  • 125 ml soy milk can use any plant based milk alternative
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 200 ml oil
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 1 tsp salt

How to

  1. Add the quinoa to a pot along with 200 ml of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes until all water is absorbed completely.

  2. In the meantime make the vegan mayo. Add the milk alternative, oil, salt and vinegar into a tall container. Take an immersion/ hand blender and place it on the very bottom. Turn the speed onto low and pull it up in one go until you have reached the surface of the liquids. Keep blending until it begins to emulsify and becomes creamy. Add the mustard and continue to blend for about 1 minute until it if smooth and creamy. Place in the fridge.

  3. Slice the mushrooms into about 0,5 cm thick slices.

  4. In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, maple syrup, hot sauce and conrnstarch. Make sure there are no big lumps of cornstarch in the mixture.

  5. When the quinoa is done transfer it to a food processor. But make sure it has really absorbed all liquids, otherwise the burger patty will fall apart. Add about 2/3 of the teriyaki mixture to it and blend well. It should all stick together and form a big ball.

    Slightly flour your hands so they are dry. Divide the quinoa mixture into 2 and form them into patties. Do this by first rolling a ball in your hand and laying it on a flat surface. Then press it down with the palm of hand to make a flat surface.

  6. Heat up half of the oil in a pan. Sautée the mushrooms in there for about 3 minutes. reduce the heat and add the remaining teriyaki sauce.

  7. Mash the avocado. Half the burger buns and toats the bottom half.

  8. Heat up the remaining oil in another pan. Once hot add the quinoa patties and fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes.

  9. Once the bottom bun is toasted add a generous spread of mayonaise. Top it with some salad. Add the black quinoa patty on top. Then theh mushrooms and some sliced cucumber if using. Lastly, add the mashed avocado and the top half of the burger bun. Serve and enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière